Tag: SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

What Are Raccoon Dogs?

Chin@Strategy

On Thursday, scientists unveiled new data on the possible origins of the Covid-19 pandemic — and put a strange, squat creature squarely in the spotlight. Meet the raccoon dog; it earns its name from its black facial markings, which give the animal a masked appearance and a more-than-passing resemblance to those infamous raiders of urban trash cans. The animals were at least occasionally sold at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where many virologists suspect that the Covid-19 pandemic may have started. Scientists had previously announced that swabs from the market…

Jiang Yanyong, Who Helped Expose China’s SARS Crisis, Dies at 91

Chin@Strategy

He became known for his precision, steady hands and willingness to take on difficult cases, earning him the nickname “Brave Jiang.” But his idealism didn’t last long. In 1966, Mao unleashed the Cultural Revolution, the decade-long period of chaos that upended Chinese society. Groups of militant youths known as Red Guards roved the country, determined to root out “class enemies.” Dr. Jiang, whose father had been a banker and whose cousin was an official in the rival Nationalist party in Taiwan, was an easy target. Branded a counterrevolutionary, he was…